(NewsNation) — President Joe Biden will travel to Florida on Wednesday to assess the devastation left by Hurricane Ian.

He is scheduled to meet Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, one of the Republican Party’s most prominent critics, at after storms and to coordinate recovery efforts.

The President has promised to put aside politicssaid that federal, state and local governments would work together to help rebuild homes, businesses and lives.

Hurricane Ian has resulted in at least 84 people confirmed deadincluding 75 in Florida, as hundreds of thousands of people wait for power to recover.

Biden plans to meet Wednesday with residents and small business owners in Fort Myers, Florida, and thank government officials for provide emergency assistance and remove debris. He would spend most of his time in some of the worst-hit areas.

The trip will be divided into three parts. First, Biden and first lady Jill Biden will take a helicopter tour of the area, where they will damage survey in Fort Myersspecifically from overhead just to see all the damage.

Then, once they landed, they would meet with local, state, and federal officials, including FEMA Directed by Deanne Criswell and DeSantis. The president will also meet with local residents who have lost their homes and some local business owners to see how Ian is impacting them and how the recovery effort is progressing.

Before returning to the White House, Biden will end his trip with remarks. A White House source told NewsNation that his statement would be an affirmation of the White House’s commitment that they will continue. to provide assistance and resources to Florida as far as it takes to recover.

But many Florida residents who still powerless and cannot access food and water.

Biden usually waits to visit the site of a natural disaster, to make sure his presence and the fleet of vehicles accompanying him will not hinder rescue efforts.

Before the storm hit, the president intended to visit the Florida cities of Orlando and Fort Lauderdale last week, where he plans to emphasize his efforts to strengthen Social Security and Medicaid. Biden accused Senator Rick Scott of wanting to end both programs by proposing that federal laws should expire every five years, even though the Florida senator said he wanted to keep the programs.

Biden and DeSantis have put politics aside and they have worked well together, but their meeting today will draw a lot of attention to see how the two will act together just weeks before the midterm elections.

Biden and DeSantis have had a lot of differences in recent years on how to fight COVID-19, immigration policies, and more. In recent weeks, they have debated the governor’s decision to put migrants on planes or buses to the Democratic camp, a practice Biden called “reckless.”

DeSantis has shown orders detailing the progress and recovery of the storm, what FEMA is giving specific areas and what’s happening on the ground.

The storm changed the purpose and tone of Biden’s first trip to Florida this year.

DeSantis confirmed on Tuesday that he would meet with Biden in the hurricane zone and he praised the government’s Federal Emergency Management Agency for declaring a state of emergency before Ian landed.

“It was huge because everyone was excited up front. They know they have the ability to do it,” DeSantis said. “We appreciate it. I think FEMA is working really well with states and locales.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source link